As a stark reminder of the toll that substance abuse has taken on families across the country and across Western North Carolina, a small group of Macon County residents will travel to Washington, D.C., later this month to help erect a temporary cemetery made up of hundreds upon hundreds of hand-painted tombstones.

Maggie Calhoun Bowman’s family has spent the last 17 years making peace with the fact that they will never know how she ended up dead in a rain gully, covered over with leaves and a pink coat.

Brit Klepac gave birth two-and-a-half years ago. Throughout her pregnancy, she was mentally and physically healthy, but almost immediately after bringing her child into the world, she started experiencing severe anxiety. 

“Hollywood and video games glorify violence while those with mental illnesses remain untreated.“ 

Those are the words of Chuck Edwards, who most likely is the man who will be the new congressman for the 11th District after the election in November. He mouthed those words recently in response to the question of what needs to be done to prevent school shootings like the recent one in Uvalde, Texas. 

One of my bachelor’s degrees is in psychology. I wanted to be a therapist or psychologist to help others. I’ve always been intrigued with human development and the vastness of the mind. For a while, I worked as a school psychologist, but that role is more about testing and shuffling paperwork than working one-on-one with individuals, so I moved on to other avenues. Nonetheless, I’ll be forever grateful for the knowledge I gained in those undergraduate years.

A comprehensive assessment of Haywood Emergency Management Services completed in 2019 suggested that aggressive shift schedules put employees at greater risk for sleep disorders, PTSD, anxiety, depression, substance abuse and suicide. 

Make no mistake, it would be a stretch to say a partnership between Western Carolina University and the town of Sylva’s Police Department  is the model for the future of policing in small-town America.

As one of Waynesville’s three “urban” cores, Frog Level holds an identity as distinct as any other. Of late, that identity has not been all that good. 

A new nonprofit expanding its services into Haywood County is challenging the status quo when it comes to overcoming addiction. 

By Liam McLeod • Rumble Contributor | One of the most important things I have come to realize in life is that happiness is something that is earned, not given. It took me a long time to understand that in order to be happy in life, you have to go out of your way every single day and do something that has the chance to bring some sort of light to your day. It took me even longer to realize that the same was true (for me) when it came to dealing with anxiety.